Mr. Calm: How Nick Lodolo is becoming TCU’s ace

TCU left-hander Nick Lodolo doesn’t care much for labels.

He’s the unquestioned “ace” for the Frogs. Numbers don’t lie, after all, but Lodolo is one of the calmest players whenever he steps on the field.

There is no pressure to live up to that lofty title.

“I just do my job, honestly,” said Lodolo, the 6-foot-6 left-hander who is projected as a first-round pick in June’s MLB Draft.

“You can call it an ace, whatever, but every starting pitcher on our team knows our job is to give our team a chance to win. It doesn’t matter the day you pitch honestly, but if that’s what people want to call it, that’s fine.

“I’m still going to do the same job, just go out there and try to put up zeroes.”

Lodolo has put up plenty of zeroes in his first six starts this season, and is TCU’s “Friday night” starter. He’ll make his seventh start tonight to open a three-game series against Oklahoma State at Lupton Stadium.

Lodolo has pitched at least seven innings in his last five starts, and had his most impressive one week ago in TCU’s walk-off victory over Texas. Lodolo threw eight innings of one-run ball, scattering nine hits and striking out nine.

The only run scored by the Longhorns came on a steal of home, and the runner sliding under the tag.

Other than that, Lodolo was terrific. It’s been that way all season, evident by Lodolo’s 3-2 record and 1.32 ERA in six starts. He’s struck out 55 so far in 41 innings pitched.

Lodolo seems to get better as the game goes along, too.

“That’s usually how it is,” Lodolo said. “There’s just something, kicking into that little extra gear. At the end of the game, usually that’s when my arm feels best. My fastball was still coming out really well [against Texas] and my breaking ball tightened up as the game went on, so that was good.”

Lodolo speaks with a sense of calmness, and pitches in that manner too. He feels it’s simply from experience of starting 36 games and counting for TCU in his career.

He does not get rattled or change his approach regardless of how the game is unfolds.

That’s something catcher Alex Isola has noticed about Lodolo. But, Isola said, don’t let the calm demeanor be mistaken for lack of passion.

Lodolo has a competitive fire burning inside for greatness. It’s just not as easily seen as other players, unless there’s a walk-off victory of course.

Lodolo, like everyone else in TCU’s dugout, couldn’t hold back their excitement during the walk-off win over the Texas.

“Toward the end of the game, it started to come out a little bit,” Lodolo said. “That’s about the most emotion I’ll show. Other than that … I’m a very calm guy.”

In the big picture, Lodolo is emerging as the staff ace that coach Jim Schlossnagle envisioned before the season.

Lodolo had moments of inconsistency early in his college career, posting a 4.35 ERA over 17 games, including 15 starts, as a freshman in 2017, and a 4.32 ERA over 16 games, including 15 starts, last season.

But he’s living up to the early-season hype going into his junior season.

“He’s taken a jump leading into this, but he even took a bigger jump [against Texas] in my eyes,” Schlossnagle said.